2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill

Email Addresses: 
Find your Representative using this link, which will navigate to their email submission form: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

Subject: Support Charitable Freedom in the Final Reconciliation Bill

Dear [Representative] [Last Name],

As a constituent and representative of [Organization Name] in [City/County], I want to thank you for your service and continued commitment to advancing sound policy during this complex reconciliation process.

With final negotiations moving forward, I respectfully urge you to support the Senate’s approach to charitable giving provisions—preserving philanthropy’s ability to provide food for the hungry, educational opportunities for youth, and support during disaster. 

The Senate bill includes several improvements that reflect feedback from communities across Indiana:

• It removes the proposed increase to the private foundation excise tax, which would have diverted an estimated $2 billion from local charitable work and into federal spending.
• It strikes a tax on nonprofit transportation benefits, protecting organizations from unnecessary compliance burdens.
• It also includes a stronger and permanent universal charitable deduction—$1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for joint filers. That’s a meaningful way to empower everyday Hoosiers to support their communities, without expanding government programs.

These changes are important to people like me who believe in local problem-solving and private initiative. But one provision remains that gives us pause:

• The 1% floor on corporate charitable deductions could reduce the ability of small and mid-sized businesses to continue supporting our schools, faith-based groups, and local nonprofits. These are the same businesses that quietly give to churches, youth sports, and community projects year after year. They don’t need a new barrier to giving— they need encouragement and deserve our thanks.

We know this is a moment of serious negotiation, and we’re grateful for your leadership. As the House works to finalize the package, we hope you will support a version that reflects the improvements made over the last few weeks and that honors the charitable traditions that are so vital to communities like ours.

Thank you again for all you do.

Sincerely,

[Name]
[Title]
[Organization]
[City, State]
 

Phone Your Representative

Phone calls are an extremely effective way to gain the attention of members of Congress. Use the script below.

• Go here to find the phone number for your Representative

Key Points to Remember

• Be courteous and professional – Congressional staff handle many calls, and respectful engagement is most effective. Due to call volume, it is highly likely you will be leaving a voicemail, rather than speaking directly to a staffer.
• Identify yourself as a constituent – Make clear you represent an organization in their district.
• Be specific about what you're asking for – Opposition to the proposed excise tax increase on private foundations and the 1% floor on corporate charitable deductions.
• Offer to serve as a resource – Provide your contact information for follow-up questions
• Stay aligned with the core message – These talking points are crafted to resonate with our members of Congress. While it's important to speak authentically and in your own voice, try to avoid adding comments that could unintentionally distract from or weaken your main request.

Call Script

Hi, my name is [Name], and I’m calling from [Organization] in [City or County], Indiana.

I’m calling to thank Representative [Last Name] for [his/her] leadership and request support of the Senate’s removal of the foundation excise tax hike—a change that protects $2 billion in charitable dollars—and for backing the universal charitable deduction of $1,000 for individuals, $2,000 for couples.

These provisions respect local decision-making and protect the freedom to give.

However, the 1% floor on corporate charitable deductions still poses a serious concern. It would discourage giving by the small and mid-sized businesses that help fund food banks, education, and faith-based programs.

• If speaking with a staffer: Will Representative [Last Name] support the Senate’s revisions and work to remove the 1% corporate giving floor?
• If leaving a voicemail: Representative [Last Name], please support the Senate’s revisions and oppose the 1% corporate floor in the final package.

Thank you.

Social media's public visibility supports your private direct outreach.

Sample Social Posts

@[Handle of your Representative] thank you for backing a stronger universal charitable deduction. Let’s make sure it stays in the final bill. Every Hoosier deserves the freedom to give. #KeepINGivingStrong 

@[Handle of your Representative], removing the private foundation tax hike protects Hoosier’s $2B for food banks, faith groups, and schools. Thanks for getting it right. Let’s keep it that way. #ProtectINPhilanthropy

@[Handle of your Representative], Hoosiers rely on corporate giving. Please remove the 1% floor on deductions. It discourages local businesses from helping their communities. #ProtectINPhilanthropyy

@[Handle of your Representative], thanks for removing the foundation tax hike & boosting the charitable deduction. Now let’s finish the job—remove the 1% floor on corporate giving. #ProtectINPhilanthropy #KeepINGivingStrong

X/Twitter Handles

Sen. Todd Young: @SenToddYoung
Sen. Jim Banks: @SenatorBanks
Rep. Frank Mrvan, D1: @RepMrvan
Rep. Rudy Yakym, D2: @RepRudyYakym
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, D3: @RepStutzman
Rep. Jim Baird, D4: @RepJimBaird
Rep. Jefferson Shreve, D6: @RepShreve
Rep. André Carson, D7: @RepAndreCarson
Rep. Mark Messmer, D8: @RepMessmer
Rep. Erin Houchin, District 9: @RepHouchin
Rep. Victoria Spartz, D5: @Victoria_Spartz

We'll work with IPA members to draft and place a short opinion piece in your local paper.

GET HELP

All the links above are publicly accessible—please forward this web link to your board members and key donors. Their voices can be especially powerful in reaching elected officials.

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the reconciliation bill (H.R. 1), advancing legislation that now returns to the House for final consideration. Thanks to the remarkable advocacy of IPA members and partners nationwide, several harmful provisions were removed or significantly improved in the Senate version (see below).

We are especially grateful to Senator Todd Young, who emerged as one of the few senators to champion these issues in a meaningful way. When it counted, he stepped forward to protect philanthropy and demonstrate his strong support for the members of IPA.

As the bill heads back to the House, it’s critical that members hear from you—urging them to support the Senate-passed improvements and ensure they remain in the final package. These changes strengthen charitable giving and protect vital community resources without undermining the bill’s broader goals.

Thank you to everyone who has taken action so far to help shape this legislation. Whether you’ve called, written, met with lawmakers, or elevated the message in your community. You’ve made a difference.

To highlight all of your hard work, we want to share a powerful op-ed from Neysa Meyer, executive director of the Putnam County Community Foundation, who helped bring rural philanthropic voices into the national conversation. Read Neysa’s piece in the Banner Graphic.

The next few days will be decisive. Let’s keep the pressure on.

We are pleased to share promising news from Capitol Hill that reflects the power of persistence, partnership, and principled advocacy.

The Senate has released its version of the reconciliation bill. Significantly, it removes many of the damaging excise tax provisions that were included in the House version.

This is a meaningful step forward for the philanthropic sector. The harmful provisions previously threatened to undercut charitable giving and limit the resources available to communities. By striking those measures, the Senate package acknowledges the essential role that philanthropy plays in strengthening civil society and addressing urgent needs.

You can find the Senate Finance Reconciliation text here, which is much more favorable to our sector than H.R. 1, as it does the following: 

• Omits the harmful private foundation excise tax provisions, which would have annually removed over $220m from Indiana philanthropy
• Includes a stronger, permanent, non-itemizer deduction of $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for joint filers
• Maintains the 60% increased charitable deduction for itemizers, but includes a 0.5% floor  
• Omits remaining UBIT provisions

❌However, the provision setting the 1% floor on corporate charitable contributions remains unchanged, impacting small and medium sized businesses in a way that will be felt particularly in communities with few other resources. 

This development is a clear reminder that advocacy matters. Your voices—alongside those of IPA, our members, and national partners—helped spotlight the unintended consequences of the original tax proposals. The Senate’s revision shows that lawmakers are listening.

While this isn’t the final chapter, it’s an encouraging one. IPA will continue to monitor developments closely and work to ensure any final agreement supports, not hinders, philanthropy’s ability to serve communities across Indiana and the nation.

As we prepare for the Senate to consider the full legislative package next week, we encourage you to continue your outreach to elected officials in both the House and Senate. Negotiations on the reconciliation package continue and it’s imperative that we keep educating congressional offices on the importance of preserving charitable resources in the communities we serve.

Your Advocacy Is Working. But We Can’t Let Up.

Thanks to each of you who have:

• Made phone calls
• Sent messages
• Shared local impact stories
• Published or drafted op-eds
• Met directly with your representatives

These actions are shaping Congress’s perspective. Your work is part of what helped secure the removal of the tax-exempt status revocation in the House and harmful taxation provisions in the Senate.

IPA has continued working closely behind the scenes with key contacts on the Hill and are pleased to share an encouraging update.

U.S. Senator Todd Young has been a strong advocate for removing the proposed excise tax increase on private foundations from the Senate’s version of the reconciliation bill. We understand his efforts have been well received by fellow members of the Senate Finance Committee and are hopeful that momentum continues in our favor.

Next week, negotiations will move into a decisive phase as provisions are finalized ahead of potential floor activity during the week of June 23. That process will likely include what’s known as a “Byrd Bath”—a procedural review that I’m mentioning only because the name is too fun to leave out.

Now is the time to keep our issues front and center. Sustained energy and engagement from our community will be critical to securing meaningful outcomes.

In addition to the excise tax provision, Senator Young maintains continued concern about other House-passed language targeting the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. While the process of prioritizing changes to the bill is complex, we note that these concerns have surfaced in Senate Finance Committee conversations and the voice of philanthropy is being represented.

The action may be centered in the Senate right now, but we can’t afford to take our eyes off the other chamber. Final passage by the House will be required before the reconciliation package is complete, and leaders are aiming to wrap the process by July 4. Quiet negotiations between the chambers on the differing versions of the bill could begin at any time. That’s why continued outreach to House members is still essential.

What Was Removed from the Bill

The provision allowing the government to revoke nonprofit tax-exempt status without due process was removed from the bill.

This victory reflects the coordinated advocacy by IPA members, national philanthropy-serving organizations, and their members across the country.

But the bill now moves to the Senate, and your voice is needed to secure the next wins.

What’s Still in the Bill

1. Tiered Excise Tax on Private Foundations: The proposal to impose a steeply tiered excise tax on foundation investment income—up to 10% for the largest foundations—is projected to divert over $200 million each year away from Hoosier nonprofits and into the Washington bureaucracy. Every dollar taxed is a dollar not invested here at home in faith-based institutions, education, disaster relief, and other community priorities.
2. Corporate Giving Restrictions: The introduction of a 1% floor before corporations can deduct charitable contributions may unintentionally disincentivize giving, especially among small and mid-sized businesses that are vital community partners. In a state like Indiana, where local employers play an outsized role in civic life, this change could disincentivize giving, and it threatens to disrupt long-standing partnerships between local business and local solutions.
3. Expansion of Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT): The proposed changes to the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT), including taxes on parking and transportation, is an example of regulatory overreach that increases compliance burdens and diverts unrestricted resources away from programs that are typically used for innovation, and community responsiveness.

What We Support

The temporary universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers remains in the bill. This is a positive step that allows all taxpayers to support charitable work.

As the Senate reconvenes this week, our advocacy efforts remain crucial. Behind the scenes, IPA continued engaging with key contacts on Capitol Hill to ensure philanthropy stays central in ongoing discussions.

Current Status of the Reconciliation Bill:

• The Senate is now reviewing the House-passed "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," with discussions expected to continue through June.
• Several provisions, including those affecting Medicaid and nonprofit sectors, are under scrutiny and may be amended or removed.
• Senators are considering changes to ensure the bill complies with budgetary rules, which could impact various sectors, including philanthropy.

Yesterday, the House passed the reconciliation bill, and while one harmful provision was removed, most remain and the stakes are high for philanthropy.

This week, as the final House version of the bill was being written and debated on the floor, IPA’s Foundations on the Hill (FOTH) delegation was working the halls of Congress. Your outreach to Indiana’s representatives eased their path. Our team met face-to-face with every Indiana congressional office, sharing how the bill would affect our communities—and making the case for changes.

Our efforts are being recognized nationally. Claudia Cummings op-ed in The Hill featured IPA’s concerns about taxing philanthropy—and we’ve heard it’s being read by lawmakers and staff as they begin shaping the Senate version. We’ve been heard. But we haven’t finished.

What Was Removed from the Bill

The provision allowing the government to revoke nonprofit tax-exempt status without due process was removed.

This victory reflects the coordinated advocacy by IPA members, national philanthropy-serving organizations, and their members across the country. But the bill now moves to the Senate, and your voice is needed to secure the next wins.

What’s Still in the Bill

1. Tiered Excise Tax on Private Foundations: The proposal to impose a steeply tiered excise tax on foundation investment income—up to 10% for the largest foundations—is projected to divert over $200 million each year away from Hoosier nonprofits and into the Washington bureaucracy. Every dollar taxed is a dollar not invested here at home in faith-based institutions, education, disaster relief, and other community priorities.
2. Corporate Giving Restrictions: The introduction of a 1% floor before corporations can deduct charitable contributions may unintentionally disincentivize giving, especially among small and mid-sized businesses that are vital community partners. In a state like Indiana, where local employers play an outsized role in civic life, this change could disincentivize giving, and it threatens to disrupt long-standing partnerships between local business and local solutions.
3. Expansion of Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT): The proposed changes to the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT), including taxes on parking and transportation, is an example of regulatory overreach that increases compliance burdens and diverts unrestricted resources away from programs that are typically used for innovation, and community responsiveness.

What We Support

The temporary universal charitable deduction for non-itemizers remains in the bill—a positive step that allows all taxpayers to support charitable work.

OBBBA Recap

On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives cleared a major hurdle, advancing its version of a 2025 Fiscal Year (FY2025) budget reconciliation bill, H.R. 1 One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (OBBBA), by a vote of 215 to 214. Totaling more than 1,000 pages, the legislation uses a complicated congressional procedure known as “budget reconciliation” to allow the Senate to pass it with fewer votes than would normally be required, and without bipartisan support. 

The OBBBA is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to cost at least $2.5 trillion over 10 years. It includes extensions and modifications of expiring 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, new corporate and individual tax provisions, repeal and modification of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) energy tax provisions, $1.3 trillion in cuts from Medicaid and other federal health and nutrition programs—including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicare or Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage—and modification of rules for health insurance sold in the commercial market.
Most attention on this budget bill has centered around issues like the tax code, Medicaid, and immigration. However, there are more hidden in the House’s reconciliation proposal, including provisions that negatively impact philanthropy. As previously outlined:

• Increased private foundation excise tax: Currently, all private foundations (other than exempt operating foundations) pay an excise tax of 1.39% of net investment income. The House-passed bill creates a tiered system, where the largest foundations would be subject to a tax of 10% of their net investment income. This results in a $220M+ annual impact to the State of Indiana.
• 1% floor for charitable contributions from corporations: Currently, corporations can deduct their charitable contributions from taxable income, up to 10% of their taxable income. This legislation creates a floor, meaning corporations must donate at least 1% of their taxable income before being eligible to receive a deduction.
• Unrelated Business Income Tax: Currently, nonprofits must pay a tax on income from activities that constitute an “unrelated trade or business.” This bill includes fringe benefits that nonprofits provide to employees (such as parking) as part of a nonprofit’s unrelated business taxable income.

The legislation also includes a modest charitable deduction for nonitemizers capped at $150 for single filers and $300 for joint filers, sunsetting at the end of 2028. This does not include contributions to donor-advised funds. 

Following IPA’s Foundations on the Hill Event and passage of the OBBBA, Congress went into recess which gave agencies and analysts a chance to study the specifics before the Senate takes up the bill. Back to work this week, the Senate will consider its own budget reconciliation package, which may (or may not) be different from the House’s version—as the process and timeline remain unclear. The Senate could strip and insert an entirely new version of the bill or opt for a line-by-line review and edit of the current House version.

Word on the Hill 

A group of GOP senators have openly criticized the package as they aim to deliver it to President Trump by July 4.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he thinks there are “enough” Republicans to “stop the process” in order to prioritize stronger reductions in spending and the national deficit.

Recently, Johnson said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that congressional Republicans should examine spending “line by line, like DOGE has done” to find areas to eliminate.

Several Republicans in the Senate have expressed skepticism about aspects of the bill for what they view as inadequate spending cuts or shrinking Medicaid access and have promised to change it. Any changes to the bill would need to be approved by the House before it goes to the President for signage.

Process Moving Forward 

Senate consideration of its reconciliation bill will follow expedited procedures if the bill meets budget resolution instructions and reconciliation rules. 

Upon being brought to the floor, a minimum of 20 hours of debate will occur, which will be followed by a “vote-a-rama.” In a typical session, hundreds of amendments will be proposed, but only a dozen or more will be voted on and even less adopted. Often used as a political messaging tactic, this process allows the minority party and any member to force votes on amendments that ordinarily would not be considered on the Senate floor. Amendments must be germane, and points of order can be raised by any member against provisions in the reconciliation that are seen as non-germane. However, to override the point of order and keep the questioned provision in the bill, a supermajority of 60 votes is required.

As a last step, both the House and Senate must pass an identical version of the reconciliation bill that can be presented to the President. While the President can veto the bill at this stage, it would require the process to completely restart, beginning with the adoption of a fresh budget resolution.